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Oklahoma’s Golden Pony casino shut down over tribal dispute
The Golden Pony, the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town’s gaming enterprise in Oklahoma, has shut down after internal disputes over the leadership of the tribe.
During the Thlopthlocco Business Committee’s meeting in October 2025, an opposition group demanded that committee members resign and declared themselves as the new Business Committee after an unauthorized election. The self-appointed members later confronted tribe officials and threatened to fire them.
The Golden Pony closed operations on October 31, 2025, after Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police were called to an attempted break-in.
The funds of the tribe have also been frozen, as three separate groups weren’t able to agree on who should have control over the bank accounts.
The Okfuskee County District Court sided with the initial tribal leadership and warned others not to exhibit threatening or disruptive behavior; however, the new committee members appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In an attempt to strike down the lower court’s order, they have claimed that state courts don’t have the authority to hear internal tribal disputes.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has indicated on its website that the tribe’s leadership is still in question.
The sides are scheduled to appear in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on December 16, 2025.
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